Flight of the Crow: A NightWing History
Flight of the Crow is an old Nightwing scroll by Luckybird, edited by Matau. Foreword Flight of the Crow was discovered a few years back, when an eruption ruined the island of the Nightwings. A searching party trying to find anything salvageable unearthed a scroll that was buried in the depths of the ruined library. Much of the fragile paper was burned away in the library, but they had found this one that was locked in a hard chest and buried under the worn floor. A scroll that deserved that much protection must be extremely important. Although it was written in old draconic and the figures were almost gone through age, a team of translators managed to decipher the tomb. This old scroll happens to be some sort of diary, though the writer claimed many times through out this piece that it is just an observation journal. The only relevant title we had recovered was ''Flight of the Crow. We will have to assume that was what he meant for it to be.'' All dates have been changed to fit today's calendar, and words that only existed back then have been changed to today's definition. 1: 2 years pre-scorching It seems today that the search team has finally returned. After anxious waiting throughout the tribe, the small group of dragons that flew out at sea have come back. Many black shapes clung to the sea cliffs, waiting impatiently for their return. When they finally did, there was rejoicing. They not only came back happy, but one of them held onto a branch from something like a pine tree. I remember that day clearly, even though at the time I was a little dragonet. I decided to keep this observation journal just in case the future needs to know that has happened in the past. The dragons lighted down on the windswept cliffs, and they all cheered. "We have found a new home!" One of them cried. At this, I was confused. A new home? What was wrong with the one that we have? North of the mountain dwellers, west of the icy dragons, yet isolated in our own corner of the world. This 'new home' could be nothing but a hoax. Why would we want one anyways? It isn't like my tribe could ever be threatened! I was surprised by how wrong I was. 2: 5 years MS It has been nearly seven years since I misplaced my book, and I only just found it under the harshest circumstance. Fire burned in the village, and I had woken up to the smell of smoke. When I had blinked the sleep out of my eyes I saw a creature crouching over me. It was pale, small, and had a large claw. It raised it in a steel arc. I realize, now, that it intended to kill me. A split second later I saw a flash of purple scales and my mother, Starstrike, stood over the decapitated figure of a (scavenger). She looked at me, and I saw all the worry in her eyes. She yelled something that was lost in the chaos as the roof began collapsing. She abandoned all attempts at communication and grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the hut. Events flashed by me, and I remembered a group of dragons holding me and muttering something. I also remember a funeral for a dragon. I think it was a relative, though I don't know. Then the rest of the dragons, drenched in the now falling rain, joined them. A few limped. A few had long scars on them. And we all took to the air. Nearly a hundred dragons spread their starry wings, and into the night sky we went. A few creatures scurried out from underneath us. They were the (scavengers) and they were out for more of us. A few raindrops fell in my eyes, because after that it all went blurry. I remember that the next time my eyesight was clear, we were miles out in open ocean. "Where are we going?" I nudged my father, Scroll, who balanced the perfect little pieces of paper in a few hide bags. "Somewhere else, where we can escape them. They have been attacking us for years now. We need to find a safe haven for our people to live in." He smiled to me, and turned back to find a scroll peeking out of one of his satchels. He frowned, and rearranged everything. I sighed, my scales cold and itching from the seawater between them. After that, I went into some kind of daze, and only emerged from it when the dragon at the front of the formation that we settled into called out that there was land ahead. All of us flew with renewed effort, and less than thirty minutes later I was feeling sand between my claws. Many of us collapsed onto the beach, panting and even curling up and snoring. Only a few managed to get up a few minutes after we landed. One of them was the dragon Undefeated, who stared from one dragon to another, then gazing off at the rest of the island. Another was Miracle, who began quickly assessing any injuries. She gazed at a small scratch on my neck that the (scavenger) must have made when it attacked me, but didn't to anything else. Soon, night fell and the dragons began to get up. Stars and Scroll helped me up, and I gazed around me. A forest stretched all around us, and in the middle of the island there was a huge mountain. The sand reached the forest, and then fell away to the shrubs. I opened my wings again, which protested with pain. I clenched my teeth, and flew into the air. The island stretched for miles in all directions, and the forest was clean and luscious. I smiled. Was this the land that we should inhabit? Undefeated flew up beside me, surprising me. I yelped, then realized at the only dragons on this island would be our own. No need to look out for fear of the mountain dwellers. To my surprise, she laughed. "Syzygy, quit being so fidgety!" I muttered something that to this day I still cannot remember. She looked at the mountain, and held up her claws like she was squaring off section on the face. "We can probably stay there. It is close enough to the forest, yet not in it. We cannot sleep on the beaches every night. What if there is rain?" I looked at where she was pointing to. "That looks like a good spot. Why not in that depression over there? We would be sheltered by the wind." We landed where I was referring to. "Yes, that looks like a nice spot." I saw a few sticks that had blown out of the forest, and lit them on fire. The heat washed over me. I shivered. "Why are we here?" I finally asked Undefeated. "I am, to be honest, scared out of my mind. We don't know this place... We don't even know where we are." Undefeated laid a wing over me. "Don't worry," she said. "We will be safe in this paradise." 3: 7 years MS I don't have much time now. I feel that something under my claws is rumbling every day. I have written this to remember something that I had recieved today. I was patrolling the borders of the island when I came across a strange cave that I hadn't seen before. It was dark, and heavy woven cloths were strewn across the front of it. Strange smokes emmited from the holes in the stone. I walked slowly, nervously, towards it and stopped in front of it. Suddenly, a wind shifted and the curtain blew opened. I stepped back, startled, and witnessed the strangest dragon that I had ever seen. It's scales were inky black, and a long shawl was wrapped around himself. It appeared not to have any wings, or had his them well. The eyes were the weirdest part, as they were a milky white with vaguely yellow centers. "What do you seek? Those promises I shall keep." It hissed, and I figured out that this strange dragon was a male. I coughed. "I am Syzygy, one of the leaders of the black tribe. I don't think I might have seen you before.." My attention caught a golden amulet that hung from his frail neck. It glowed gently. The dragon hacked something that might have passed for a chuckle. "Syzygy? I see with my failing sight. The dragons of the whispering night. I am Limbo, the seer of nigh. Time and precognition are my ally. What is it that you may ask? I see in the future many tasks." I was instantly confused. This dragon spoke in riddles. A task? Precognition? Is that even possible? But, even if everything he speaks is pure garbage, I might as well get some help with my doubts that have grown within me. "Can you tell me if living on the island is the right thing to do? I feel uneasy about this place." I am grasped roughly and dragged into the cave at this. He sweeps his tail at me and points towards a bowl. It glowed menacingly yet warmly, and I couldn't help but look inside. I could only explain it as liquid fire. It bubbled and steamed like water, yet it was a bright and vivid red, orange, and gold. The heat that billowed out was like a sky dragon that came in coppery colors. I stared back at the dragon, who stood in a trance with the liquid fire reflecting in his strange revoltingly pale eyes. "This is but a taste of what is to come. The mountain will give birth and the fire shall run. The lava is destined to burn and destroy, charring and depleting you of all joy." He poured a little of the 'lava' into a flask of wood, which quickly combusted and burnt into a crisp. I stared at all of this. "What can we do to stop this?" I asked in a wondering tone. He looked back up at me. "There is a dragon that will come and save you. Trust in him, and the tribe that grew. Though he will be alive long after us, believe in him and give him your trust." On a scrap of parchment he quickly scribbled out a dragon that looked similar to the dragons in the tribe. He had a scowl on his face, but he looked rather ordinary. "What is his name?" I asked. "What should we do to know that it is him?" The dragon was rasping out each syllable now. "The seer of tomorrow. The light of the world. Along with five dragonets that are to think that they defy fate, they will free the tribe." I crouched close to him. "What if the tribe dies before he can achieve it?" "They are to last just long enough, no longer. Then his purpose is complete, and he will be subject to karma. Give it good or bad, he will be defied in the final moment. Even if he loses hope, he will have completed his prophecy." At this point, he gave up rhyming words. Something was caught in his throat, and he slunk into the shadows. "Leave me now.... One who seeks.... This is all that I wish.. To speak.." He flicked his tail, and I fell of of my trance. "Wait.. What?" I stared at him, wishing to get more information. "Tell me more! What will exactly happen?" "Goodbye, Syzygy.." He murmured, and with that fell silent. I waited for a minute or so, then gave up. He wouldn't relent. I left him in search for any scrolls that had began to accumulate in the shelter's library that had to do with 'prophecies' and 'fate.' (Editor's note: With these claims of '''Limbo' we see a surreal component of a non-fiction recollection. Through extensive research we have seen no other mention of this dragon except for the book A Nightwing's guide to the Dragons of Pyrrhia, Unabridged version, also by this dragon.'' The more appearances of this strange unknown dragon, the more unbelievable this story gets. However, we have come to the conclusion that this dragon has imagined the part of a Nightwing's thoughts that govern thought-reading and precognition as a tangible dragon, or that he had gone to an early mind-reader that had arrived on the Nightwing island before the main bulk of the tribe did. There is no way else that these next events could be explained, because of how closely the development of the author mirrored that of a Dragonet's growth of powers into an adult's. Without any further comment, we shall continue this translation. 4: 4 years PS The ground burned under our feet, and scorched our scales. I felt the very earth shifting and roaring beneath me. It was angry, and was prepared to destroy us all. I bolted between dragons, murmuring words of comfort to the dragonets and pointing in the direction of the newly created castle. "It's in the shadow of the mountain. You can stay there," I shouted, and many dragons flew desperately towards the white stone fortress. I saw around me that no one remained. It was just me that was left outside. I decided to fly around and check to make sure that no one was behind. Then the earth roared again, and I felt my heart slip away from me. A chasm had suddenly lurched open, and a down draft swept me in. I tumbled down the stone cliffs that stuck out like teeth, down the ravine and towards the ground that met me. I looked up at the shower of dust and dirt that flew down to meet me when it was knocked off by gravity taking effect. Even in a disaster, normal rules still took hold, I realized. Gravity doesn't run and scream. Something clicked inside me. The sky above me... It normally isn't that dark, right? A breeze filled with sulphur caught me and I opened my wings. If the earth desired to swallow me, it couldn't expect to do so without a fight. I rocketed towards the surface and emerged back above the ground, out of the ground's open jaws. All hell has broken loose at this point. The mountain was bulging and leaking. Liquid fire was spewing out of the holes. Then, the earth desided to release it's wrath and roared fire. Rocks and boulders exploded from the top and showered the landscape with fire-bombs. I saw, briefly, the dragon that was of wrath and fury spread it's wings over the now broken mountain, and hiss at me. It flew closer to me, screaming for death. Then a claw grasped me, and pulled me away from it. I snapped back to reality and realizes that it was Limbo. "You fool!" He hissed. "That end would have been much too cruel!" I gasp as flaming rocks pelt the area that I was previously standing on. Limbo dragged me away with undragon-like strength, and stopped when we emerged back in the cave. "There is no time," he growled at me and looked over the lava again, which was bubbling and vibrating. "The Nightwings are all dead back there, now either find a safe place or take to the air," he hissed. My mind only picked up 'Nightwing.' "What is a Nightwing?" I asked, wheezing at the smoke that was getting into my lungs. "The tribe of dragons you control, now start flying or we will be turned to coal..." He seemed very agitated at me. I decided to keep the questions for later. We ran towards the entrance of the cave, and took to the air. Streaking across the sky, we both eventually landed at the entrance of the palace. But something was very much wrong. Limbo pointed above it. Liquid fire was streaming down, getting closer and closer to the white marble structure. It was going to cover it whole. I burst into the doorway. "Everyone!" I shouted to all the dragons that were gathered there. "Get down below! Somewhere safe!" The lava was going to seep through the walls. Crush the roof. Kill everyone inside. I couldn't allow that to happen. The old dragon followed behind me purposefully. "Follow his lead, or through the walls the lava shall bleed!" Quickly, word passed along. Dragons started to file down to the lower levels, where the jewels that all the tribe had brought were being stored for safekeeping. A few dragons with spears heard the call, and started rushing forward. One of them stopped, and stayed behind. His friend also stayed, calling to him to hurry. The dragon held up a small jewel that was most likely very, very valuable. Then lava cascaded down, breaking through the floor and rushing down towards the dragons. I grimaced as both of them disappeared behind the magma. There was probably no seeing them again. All the dragons rushed deeper, and several large doors were closed, in hope to keep it out before all of them were cooked alive. For several tense moments, in the deepest chamber, everyone held their breath. Everything rumbled around them, as if the earth was trying to get the little dragons hiding inside a shell. Like they were nothing but turtles. Then... Finally... It stopped. I collapsed onto the floor with a sigh of relief. The eruption was done. And they were safe. For now. 5: 5 years PS Category:Content (Luckybird7765) Category:Fanfictions (Canon) Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)